SHC--everything was donated. I just sent out an email (using a list of volunteer cooks our PTO assembled at the beginning of the year), giving the general menu I had in mind, and people volunteered.
No one had to cook a huge quantity--if someone volunteered to make a casserole, for instance, I asked for one that would serve 8-10 people, which meant that to serve our faculty & staff I needed five casserole cooks. And I let people come up with their own dishes instead of requesting specific things, so they can use favorite recipes and I get lots of great suggestions. I do try to manage it so that we don't get duplicates.
Our volunteer response on this has been terrific, and honestly I think they take great pride in the wonderful food and the raves they've drawn from the teachers. At the teachers' request, I've even started asking for recipes and posting them in the teachers' lounge after the lunches, which of course gives the volunteers a little more positive reinforcement.
We do a the whole week thing too, but that isn't until May and they are needing something to boost them now that the first quarter is over. Someone suggested getting all 25 of them together so they can get to know each other. I will definately suggest doing something when they are on duty before the kids come back next year.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
Hey Boys Mom--your Italian lunch--did you get it all donated by parents or did your PTO have to purchase all that food? Just curious.
We do a back-to-school luncheon during the workdays before school starts in August. We do our Teacher Appreciation for a full week, with meals every day.
We don't do a teacher's night out, but we do meals for them frequently and those seem to turn into good opportunities for them all to visit without the pressures of their regular schoolday lunches. (Come to think of it, it's probably the only time they all take a meal at the same time.)
We do supper before evening meetings, like on our Open House night in the fall, and lunch on teacher work days, including a big back-to-school lunch the week before classes start.
Last Friday was a half-day for the students, and we did an Italian lunch for the teachers before their staff development sessions started for the afternoon. I just set up a menu, figure out how many of each item we need, and solicit volunteers. We had three salads, lasagna, baked ziti, stuffed shells, eggplant parmigiana, deep dish pizza, tomato tart, garlic bread, and five different kinds of cookies. Not much trouble for any one person, but quite a spread when assembled!
A teacher suggested to me that we do a teacher's noght out or some sort of similar gathering to try to get all of them together to get to know each other better. Does anyone do something like this or even a welcome back party or something at their school?
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
